# Margaret Wrightson

Margaret Justina Wrightson FRBS (1877–1976) was a British artist, renowned for her work in sculpture.

## Early life and education

Margaret Wrightson was born at Norton Hall and her father was the politician Sir Thomas Wrightson. She never married, and had a studio and home in Bedford Gardens in London. Wrightson's younger sister, Jocelyn Wrightson, was a painter, mainly working in watercolours.
Wrightson first studied under William Blake Richmond at the Royal College of Art before travelling to Paris to learn from Édouard Lantéri. From 1901, Wrightson exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. She also exhibited with the Society of Women Artists and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

## Career

Wrightson received many commissions throughout her long career. Theresa, Marchioness of Londonderry, commissioned Wrightson to create a female nude which was completed in 1912 and sold at Christies in 2014 for £68,500. Wrightson created a sculpture of a woman titled ‘Mechanic, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps’ in 1917 that was later exhibited at the Royal Academy; the work had been suggested as a war memorial. In 1925 she created a 'Viking Warrior' for Walter Runciman. Wrightston's memorial of Admiral Earl Jellicoe stands in St Paul's Cathedral, London. Other public works include the figure of Saint George on the Cramlington war memorial in Northumberland, created in 1922, and a figure memorialising Charles Lamb, situated in the Inner Temple gardens, London.
Several of Wrightson's works are in the collection of National Trust's Mount Stewart, including the popular bronze of Lady Mairi as a child. The work was restored in 2012 after originally being commissioned in 1925, and erected in 1928.
Wrightson became an Associate member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1929 and a Fellow in 1943. She was also a member of the Royal Academy.

## Works

| Title | Year | Medium | Gallery no. | Gallery | Location |
| Albert Sammons | 1951–1952 | - | PPHC000370 | Royal College of Music | London, England |
| Albert Sammons | 1951–1952 | - | PPHC000371 | Royal College of Music | London, England |
| Lady Edith Helen Chaplin, Marchioness of Londonderry, DBE (1878-1959) as President of the Women's Legion, Motor Drivers | 1920 | cast bronze & silver plated | 1655801 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Lady Helen Maglona Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1911-1986) | 1930 | bronze | 1220135 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) as a Child | 1921–1926 | Carrara marble | 1221036 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) as a Child, aged 4 | 1925–1926 | Carrara marble | 1221050 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Lady Rose Keppel (b.1943), Attired in Highland Dress | 1954 | bronze | 1220134 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Lord John Rushworth Jellicoe of Scapa (1859–1935) | 1910 | bronze | 1983/1075/10 | National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth | England |
| Mechanic: Women's Auxiliary Army Corps | 1917 | bronze | 5352 | | England |
| Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859–1935) | 1910 | bronze | 1992/337/1 | National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth | England |
| The Mairi Fountain: Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) | 1928 | bronze | 1221060 | Mount Stewart | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Viking Warrior | 1925 | bronze & sandstone | - | Northumberland County Council | England |
| Youth and Progress | 1958 | bronze and aluminium | | | Fountain House, Fenchurch Street, EC3 |